The fourth and final night of SXSW 2012 was not off to the greatest musical start. The first act I caught was Kat Graham. Known mostly for her role as Bonnie Bennett on Vampire Diaries, she's been dabbling in music while acting and recently signed a record contract.

The level of insanity at SXSW cannot be overstated. The term "hipster Mardi Gras" has been used frequently, but it's far more than that. Advertisements covered everything, down to the cocktail napkins in bars and the walls of music venues.

By far the most revealing panel of the day for this reporter was a session later in the afternoon entitled “Pennies from the Celestial Jukebox,” in which a distinguished panel of artist managers and music business attorneys discussed the pros and cons of the new revenue stream represented by streaming audio, especially Spotify.

Thursday, Day Two, was my first day on random international band watch. I decided to head to some international showcases. My first stop was at the German Wunderbar lunch at Parkside Restaurant, where DJs Apparat, Bonaparte, Coma, Touchy Mob and more spun tues.

Thursday Bruce Springsteen delivered the keynote address at the SXSW Music conference. Since The Boss is one of the most contentious perennial debates on Sound Opinions, I asked hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot to weigh in on the speech. Will Jim rip it to shreds?

AUSTIN, TX—Sharing a place on the short list of rock’s very best “dark night of the soul” masterpieces—right up there with Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night and the third album by the Velvet Underground—Big Star Third (a.k.a.

AUSTIN, TX—We’ve gotta give the Boss this: Though his much-anticipated keynote address at SXSW 2012 was rife with as much mawkish sentimentality as his music at its absolute hokiest, the man alone at a lectern—armed only with an acoustic guitar, a self-deprecating sense of humor and an epic text tha

"Rule number one: dance as sassy as you can...rule number two: no cowards," Dan Deacon explained from his DJ pulpit on Stubb's stage. The rules could apply to a number of experiences at South By Southwest Music Festival, with plenty to dance to and boisterous crowds to brave.